The farm bill shapes nearly every aspect of the U.S. food and agriculture system, from how food is grown to how it reaches consumers. As Congress negotiates the 2026 farm bill, farmers are navigating low commodity prices, high fertilizer and fuel costs, and more variable and severe weather, factors that threaten their ability to turn a profit and stay in business.
The farm bill provides producers with critical tools to manage risk, adopt new practices, boost productivity, and build more resilient and sustainable operations. This moment is an opportunity to ensure that producers not only have the resources they need to survive near-term shocks and threats to productivity, but thrive for generations to come.
Why farm bill conservation programs like EQIP matter to farmers
At the crux of this bill’s shortcomings is a nearly $2 billion cut to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). EQIP provides cost-share support to help farmers implement practices that improve air and water quality, strengthen soil health and support farmers’ livelihoods. These cuts to EQIP would hamper the good practice programs that farmers and producers across the country rely on.
EQIP is in such high demand by farmers that only 24% of more than 118,000 applications were funded in fiscal year 2025. These cuts would endanger progress toward cleaner water, healthier soil, and more resilience to extreme weather.
Fully funding EQIP and other conservation programs help farmers build more reliable and profitable businesses while protecting the natural resources and food systems we all depend on.
Farmers need local staff to fully benefit from these programs
To plan and implement on-farm conservation practices, farmers rely on local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) staff. Since January 2025, the government cut nearly 1 in 4 NRCS staff, severely limiting the agency’s ability to serve the farmers who need it most. Further, a USDA plan to relocate thousands of employees is predicted to cause mass staff resignations, which will further reduce the help available to farmers and ranchers.
The Senate draft does nothing to address these staffing shortages, nor the damaging impacts of relocations, limiting the efficacy of conservation programs and isolating farmers from critical support. NRCS and other USDA county offices must be fully staffed to assist producers on their operations.
How agricultural research helps farmers stay productive
Agricultural research, often funded with public dollars, directly leads to innovations that support resilience and efficiency on the farm. From more drought-tolerant crop varieties to precision farming equipment, to biological seed coatings that enhance crop nutrient use, farmers will need research and innovation to help them adapt to more challenging growing conditions and pursue new market opportunities.
Continued public investment in research is an essential inclusion in any farm bill. Congress also has a critical opportunity to reauthorize funding for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) and keep American agriculture globally competitive. Without funding for FFAR, Congress is leaving critical research needs unmet.
A bipartisan farm bill that supports farmers, conservation and a resilient food system
Upcoming negotiations provide an important opportunity to deliver a farm bill that recognizes conservation as an investment in the future of American agriculture. Farmers and ranchers need policies that help them stay productive, profitable and resilient while protecting the natural resources that sustain our food system.
Congress has a choice: move forward with a farm bill that limits opportunities for producers to adapt and innovate or advance policies that equip America’s farmers and ranchers with the tools, resources and support they need to thrive in a changing climate and economy.
